The oil-wick cap lamp first came into use in Scotland around 1850. Before oil-wick lamps, candles were used in the mines and both were precariously attached to a miner’s hat. The design of oil-wick lamps were simple and consistent with a hook on the back to mount the lamp on a miner’s cap. The font contained a mix of fat and oil for fuel, which would be pulled through the wick to the top of the spout, where the lamp would be lit. This oil-wick lamp was constructed by William C. Winfield of Hubbard, Ohio patent number 126,606 on May 7, 1872. The patent claims as its invention “securing the lid of the lamp’ to its body by screw-threads in the lid and on the neck of the lamp, the lid being furnished with an elastic packing-disk, air-chamber, and an openings to draw air.” The lamp is in very good condition, with a small crack in the lid, other wise very nice for such a rare mining collectible.
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